Page 29 of Perfect Tragedy
“What looks good so far?”
“I’m not sure,” I start, but something makes me stop. “Actually, that’s not true. Want to know a secret?”
“Always.”
“I want to leave this town.”
His brows inch up his forehead, “What? Really? You do?”
“Why does that surprise you?”
“I don’t know. I guess I never really asked you before. Plus with the farm and your family, I guess I just figured you’d stay close by.”
“Look, if anyone takes over the farm later it will be Jack, but that’s years away and who knows what might happen in the meantime. This town is just… small. There’s a whole world out there. And I want to see it. Be part of it.”
“I understand that.”
“You do?”
“More than you know,” he nods and I feel like there’s more to it than he’s saying, but I’m distracted by the thought when he asks me, “Where are some places you want to go?”
Smiling widely, I start naming them off on my fingers, “There’s so many! Italy, New Orleans, Hawaii, Tahiti, England, California, Seattle, Boston…”
He laughs which interrupts me, “Wow, that’s a hell of a list.”
“I’m not finished,” I laugh.
“If you could visit one tomorrow - which would you choose?”
“That’s an impossible choice!” I object.
“Come on, pick one.”
“Hmm, well, I’ve always wanted to see the ocean. Have you heard of a place called Thor’s Well? It’s in Oregon.”
“Thor’s Well? No, I haven’t heard of it.”
“It looks amazing. You’ll have to look up a photo. It’s a huge hole on the coast and it looks like it’s swallowing the ocean - gallons and gallons of water falling into what looks like a bottomless sinkhole. I bet it’s amazing and crazy to see in person.”
“Beautiful,” he says.
“Yes, I’m sure it’s beautiful, it has to be,” I look at him and find him staring at me and my face flushes suddenly wondering if he was talking about the place I want to visit… or me? Flustered I keep talking, “I’d love to visit places outside of the United States, but there’s so much to see here too,” I marvel. “You know, I’ve never made a list. I should make a list.” He chuckles softly and I look at him again and see him smiling at me. “What?”
“I just love how animated and excited you are while talking about this.”
I shrug feeling a little embarrassed, “Someday I’ll see some of those places.”
“I hope you do,” he says quietly.
Since we’re finished eating, we crumble up the wrappers and sit in silence for a bit. My mind wanders through the events of the night. With a full belly, I feel tired and relaxed. When I yawn for the third time, Blake smiles.
“Alright, let’s go. Time to get Cinderella home from the ball.”
“Cinderella, huh? Better hurry then before our ride turns back into a pumpkin.”
He helps me stand and when my feet immediately sink into the grass again when I replace my shoes he stops me, “One second.”
He takes our trash and puts it in the car to throw away later, then comes back to me and picks me up again.
